Freakanomics Chapter 5

This chapter discus on what makes a prefect parent. To begin the chapter the author talks of parents and people as being terrible risk assessors. Many people believe pools are safer than guns and that driving is safer than flying when in actuality pools and cars are much more dangerous. The reason why people believe in these misconceptions is due to few reasons. One is fear since we are not always in control of the situation. This is why people feel safer in cars than in planes because in a car the driver controls what is happening. The other reason is the present-time. People are more scared of planes due to all the recent terrorist attacks.

The author then goes into talking about what makes a good parent. I think it’s difficult to say what exactly makes a good parent since each child needs to be raised differently. However the author points out specific points that make good parents such as parents being highly educated, child speaks English at home and the child has many books at home. If the parents are highly educated the child would be more likely to value education and want to further his education. If the child speaks English at home it comes as no surprise that they should score higher on tests because the tests are in English, they child has a better understanding of what he or she is doing.

One factor that I also believe plays an important role is parents making sure their child is surrounded by good friends. Now more than ever with all the sports and extracurricular activities children are now spending more time around their friends than they do at home. This means friends are having just as large of an impact on children as do their parents. If your child is surrounded by smart, motivated people some of those attributes can rub off on your child.

Freakanomics Chapter 4

This chapter talks about the sharp decline in both violent and nonviolent crimes during the 1990’s. In the years previous to 1990 crime had risen eighty percent leading most experts to believe that the United States would continue seeing an increase in crime. However this was not the case, crime levels had fallen back to where they were forty years ago during the 1960’s.This shocked almost everyone and led to question asked by the author in this chapter which was “where have all the criminal gone?”Most articles cited different reasons such as strong economy and tougher gun control laws as their reasons for the decline in crime. I would have thought the decline in the crime rate was due to the stronger economy since more people have jobs and money they would be less likely to rob and steal. However the date proved that the stronger economy did not have any impact on the decreasing crime rate. The author then credits a few changes in the 1990’s that greatly impacted the crime rate.

The first was the increased reliance on prison. More criminals began going to jail as well as serving longer sentences. It would only make sense that if more criminals were being locked up for their crimes, others would be more cautious and shy away from doing anything illegal. Another change was the increased number of police and new policing strategies. With more police on the streets the criminal’s chance at a successful crime dropped and with the new strategies, cops were in better shape, with better equipment and a new way of thinking. They stopped every single crime believing that if you stop small crimes then larger crimes would not occur.

The main reason the author cites as to why the crime rate dropped was abortion being legalized in the United States. Before when women could not have abortions they ignored their child and didn’t provide good homes, which would lead the child to having a higher chance of becoming a criminal. After the Roe vs. Wade case made abortion legal, the abortion number hit 1.6 million in 1980. So these kids that would have come from broken homes and were more likely to become criminals had suddenly disappeared, which meant the crime rate would drop. The author also compared U.S. states abortion rate to their criminal rate and discovered that the states with the highest abortion rates and had the sharpest declines in crime.

Freakonomics Chapter 3

This was another interesting chapter and I just find it interesting
how the authors can take such simple questions and turn them into
mind-blowing research articles that give us a different perspective
on how we view everyday life. In this chapter, it discusses the life
of Sudhir Ventakesh, a college student who goes into the poorest
communities of Chicago to ask a simple questioner but ends up living
with a drug dealing gang so he can understand how the gang is run from
the bottom to the top.

What I found most shocking from Sudhirs research is how a gang is run
just like any other typical business. I already knew that a gang is
made up of a leader and their workers but I didn’t expect gangs to have
such an advance way of keeping financial records. Then when he breaks down
the data it reveals why drug dealers still live with their moms. They live
with their moms because they don’t have a choice. I know that I and many
others were shocked when we found out that drug dealers only make $3.30
an hour which is also lower than minimum wage. It is also a very minimal
gain when you take into account that drug dealers have the most dangerous
job in America, one in every four drug dealers is killed.

Another thing I found interesting was how crack cocaine had such a
negative impact of the black community. Between World War II and the
Crack boom blacks were making so much progress, then the crack boom
happened and basically reversed and sent back all the progress made
by African-Americans.

After learning all the facts, it makes me feels sorry for what drug
dealers in poor communities must go through to just survive as well as
make me grateful for what I have. Most kids that become drug dealers in
these poor communities are surrounded by the negative influence of drugs
their entire life. So instead of wanting to college, they believe their
true goal in life is to become the leader of gang which is only done by
selling drugs and earning your way up the ladder to the top.

Freakanomics Chapter 2

The reading was interesting but at the same time somewhat
difficult to read since we’re talking about a group in the Ku
Klux Klan that was responsible for the many murders and terrorism
of blacks and basically anybody, no matter their race, that stood
in their way. The beginning of the chapter explains how the Klan
was created and what their motives and purpose was. I just find it
interesting that six grown men, four of which were lawyers, would
act immature and reckless by pulling pranks at nights and basically
leading to the uprising of the KKK. Also when many people think of
the Klan they believe that blacks were the only targets. In fact the
Klan targeted whites that went against their beliefs, communists,
immigrants and everyone else in the Klan’s way. I also found it shocking
that the government would not take action even though they knew about
the events taking place around the country.

The author then goes into explaining her main point of how the
KKK and real estate agents are alike. Just as the KKK created fear
for many people, real estate agents are just as capable of instilling
the same fear into us. People find it scary when they have to sell
their house since it is likely their biggest financial investment, not
to forget the emotional attachment people create with their houses. So
when it comes to selling our homes, we would hope real-estate agents
would try to get us the best deal possible. However from the examples in
the book we can tell two things; that the homeowners are losing a great
deal of money whereas the loss to the agent is minimum and real-estate
agents are actually trying to sell your house for less so they don’t have
to work as hard while their pay is basically the same. It’s just unfortunate
for the seller because that is a lot of extra money that go towards their
new house or bills. It’s clear from the first two chapters of the book we
can’t even trust the two people we should with our dearest possessions.
We can’t trust cheating teachers to educate our kids and we can’t trust
real-estate agents with our biggest financial investment in our houses.

Freakanomics chapter 1

This chapter was definitely the most interesting reading of the
entire semester. It was interesting how the author compared teachers
to sumo wrestlers in the terms of lying and cheating. The first real
topic the author dives into is incentives and how there are both good
and bad incentives everyone must choose.

When we apply incentives to teachers, students are now at a loss because
the teachers are not teaching them everything they need to know; instead
they are teaching students to the incentive they need to reach. This is
exactly what state tests that decide whether or not a high school student
can graduate accomplishes. Most teachers are only teaching what students
need to know for the test and nothing more, which is why many teachers
and students oppose standardized state tests. However I don’t believe
state tests are necessarily bad if it did not have such a major impact
on the outcome of a student. If state tests did not decide whether or
not a student can graduate and only served as a measuring stick to where
the student has come in their education, teachers can then freely pursue
their style of teaching, which would enhance their student’s education at
the same time. Also if a student was to score bad in a particular section,
for example math, the school then provides this student with extra help.

Another point that was interesting is how sumo-wrestlers take care of each
other and would even go as far as to murder two people that were going to
bust their underground business just to protect the secrecy of the
business. Basically what I took from this chapter was economics can
effect ones morals beliefs. Also the final point that was made which
was 87% of people are honest is outright ridiculous, if teachers which
are the people parents as well as society trust for educating the future
of our country and sumo-wrestlers who are not viewed as harmful people
are some of the most dishonest people we know, then why would other
ordinary people be more honest.

Gender

This chapter on gender wants to teach the reader how to read
gender but without the expectations and preconceptions we have
made in the past. In the beginning the author explains the
difference between “sex” and “gender”. “Sex” is biological
differences between male and female whereas “gender” is
constructed or invented through society and our behaviors. What
the author means by gender is constructed is there are certain
external and internal traits that our culture assigns to both males
and females and to prove that they posses these traits each gender
sends out signals. For example, strength, rationality and stability
are all characteristics of manliness, so to prove he is a man he would
work out, play sports and drive fancy cars.

The author then brings up the term “doing Gender” which refers to
participating in any behavior associated with a certain gender such
as wearing earrings or growing a beard. The author translates this
into men being dominant and women being submissive. For instance
most people associate nurturing, refined, and dainty with women
whereas rough, aggression and brutish are linked with men.

Another point the author makes is gender is created by factors
which include stereotypes, tradition, culture and family. I believe
back in the day family was probably the single largest effect on the
roles of male and female. The men worked all day and brought home food
while most women were housewives, taking care of the house and children
and preparing dinner. However in today’s society with both men and women
working full time jobs and with so many single parents the family effect
on how we see gender is decreasing.

Finally the last point the author makes is the double standard in America
regarding males and females. Women are expected to be thin, refined and
sexually inactive whereas men are encouraged to be comfortable and
sexually adventurous. If a woman dates a few guys then she is
considered a “slut” or “whore” but if a man gets with a few
women then he is considered “the man” and gets praised for doing so.

Movies

To be honest, rarely do I ever analyze a movie unless it's for a
class or a project. In my opinion movies are meant to be viewed
for fun with friends and family, as a way to get your imagination
to wander or to just relax. However the author of this piece believes
movies have a deeper meaning, which I would agree with. All movies are
packed with sexism, racism, cultural and social content but I believe
that it goes side by side with the society we live in. Before the civil
rights and woman's right movement movies always portrayed blacks as
inferior and women as housewives since that was the culture in those
days. Now in movies today women and blacks play larger, more significant
roles such as doctors, lawyers and business people because the culture
has changed. This is makes movies not only fun to watch but a great source
to discover how culture is expressed.

The first reading on I robot starts by explaining what goes into
making a movie. The business rules, filming, the plot and special
effects are all factors that should be taken into consideration when
making or even viewing a movie. He then talks about how I robot was
based on two books which Hollywood directors combined together to
create a single movie. The only problem that he believes viewers will
have with the movie is the essence of the movie is gone, which I don’t
believe is a big deal. Most movies today are made from books or are
re-makes of older movies that have been tweaked in some way to make
it more modern and appealing to the audience. Even the Twilight movies
which I have never seen because they look stupid are based on books and
I am certain that the books have lost some of its essence since they
have to make the movie appealing for children and young adults.

The second reading was on Star Wars. It basically explained how Star Wars
even though it took place in space, with robots and laser it is nothing
but a simple western flick. Just as western movies have good versus bad
and cowboys versus Indians, Stars Wars has the same good versus bad
conflict and just replaces the cowboys and Indians with Jedi’s and evil
empires.

Why are all the Black Kids Sitting Together?, Sports Taboo, Censoring Myself

Why are all the Black Kids Sitting Together?

This reading is one that almost everyone that ever went to school can easily relate to. The author was basically saying that when you look at a cafeteria it's noticeable that black kids are sitting separate from white kids. Anytime I entered the cafeteria in my high school it was obvious that there were tables where only blacks, whites, Indians, or Asians were sitting. However at the same time there were tables that were diverse and had people of all races sitting together. Now in my mind I don't believe it has any connection to students being racist against one another, I believe that it is easier to connect to someone if they have the same traits as you and this is why the same race is always sitting together. In high school I was part of the Diversity Club and for one of our missions was to get the cafeteria to be more diverse. So what we did was we offered free ice cream to anyone that would move to another table so they can interact with other people. The upside was that it worked, mainly because of the free ice cream but the next day the cafeteria was back to the same arrangements.

Sports Taboo

This section talks about how certain races are better in certain sports. It associates certain races with sports such as whites are the better quarterbacks where as blacks are better runners. It also goes to talk about how African-Americans are better suited for sports because of the higher testosterone, muscle mass and wider shoulders and longer legs. No matter how we want to look at it there are differences between all races, some races will have an advantage over others. Or as the author referred to maybe some races just care more about certain things. If you dissect it, more African-Americans play basketball than baseball because they are just not that interested in baseball however more Dominicans play baseball than basketball and many people will say the reason why Asians don’t play many sports is because they care more about their studies.

Censoring Myself

Betty Shamieh is an Arab-American Christian that is scared to single herself out because of the stage we are in, in American History. She starts off by saying that a significant amount of Arabs are Christians which comes to a surprise to many because Arabs are usually associated to Islam in the minds of most people. She then goes to talk about how even in the wake of 9/11 and with her background as a Palestinian she still believes that she doesn’t have to censor herself because it wouldn’t help improve the way Arabs are viewed. She also believes that her Palestinian experiences deserve to be heard and if she can’t write about her experiences then she can’t write at all.

Race and Ethnicity

This chapter on race and ethnicity was interesting and definitely the best reading to date. It basically talked of stereotypes, assumptions and discrimination that people make based on skin color and ethnics instead of the individual as a whole. When a common trait of a certain group is perceived then all individuals are put into a certain group where offensive, impolite, unfair generalizations can be made. Living in America the most diverse country in the world where people also have the right to freedom of speech it is understandable that some people would be racist or make stereotypical comments even in public. However as a world we have made great steps through the women rights movement, the civil rights movement and the ongoing gay rights movement to get where we are today. For the first time we have a black president as well as if I remember correctly more women than men are now graduating college, so this all proves the improvement we are making as a country.

In high school I took a course called Race, Class and Gender that basically dealt with stereotypes in our society today. The objective of the course was not to lean us one or another on certain topics but to teach us to be better understanding of people that had different beliefs than us. If it was about gay rights, abortion or skin color we did not have to agree with the decisions that person had made but we were taught to respectful or their decisions and not make any unfair judgments because of that. It was a course that I took a lot from because even though I am not a person who uses stereotypes or judge people on where there from or their skin color it really showed me how to become better individual.

The Black Bart Simpson and MTV

The two reading assignments we had both revealed how television has had lasting effects on our society. The first reading “The Black Bart Simpson: Appropriation and Revitalization in Commodity Culture” by Peter Parisi talks about the obsession of “black Bart Simpson” t-shirts in the black community during the summer of 1990. The shirts acted as billboards and personal ads for the people wearing the shirts with slogans such as “it’s cool being black” or “we are all brothers and sisters so live in unity, love and peace”. However even though the “black Bart” t-shirts reflected peoples attitude and was a phenomenon that swept through the entire country many people both of white and black race disapproved of Bart’s underachieving character. In a time when dropout rates were low, parents, teachers, and schools did not want the Bart character that curses and doesn’t complete homework to be a national icon for young children. Even young seven year old children were quoted saying “You can’t learn anything from that! You don’t learn you’re A-B-C’s!” Children should instead be looking up to iconic figures such as Malcolm X and Martin Luther King.

The second reading “The Next Plague: MTV’s Sexual Objectification of girls and Why it Must be Stopped” by Maribeth Theroux explains that through reality shows such as “Next and “The real World” women are beginning to be viewed as objects in which they are only being viewed for their sexuality. Women are looking to these shows understand what it is like to be women and know what role they play in society and by watching shows such as “Next” they are only learning to sexual objects since that is how other women are portrayed on television. The author also reveals that feminism in America has to be dead since women not only view these programs, but they accept what they see and act the same way in their daily lives.

Television definitely has an effect on our society, but we must learn that what we see on television, even on reality shows is mostly fake and set-up to send a particular message. However we should not base our lives off these messages because they change us into people that we don’t try to be. People that portray Bart Simpson character or women that sexually objectify themselves because of what they see on television are doing in the wrong direction. We should not look towards television to direct our lives, we should act the way we are.

World is a Text 119-125

Who would rather read a long boring book when I can watch my favorite show or favorite sports team in action? However this chapter in a World is A Text takes a negative spin on television and actually presents reasons to why reading a text offers more structure than a television program. First of all just as the text said, a book has an author, someone that can take credit and ownership of what they have done, when I am watching a movie or television show I have no idea who to give credit to. The book also makes another good point that I can physically connect with a book because it can be held in my hands and carried with me wherever I go. However why would I want to carry around a two hundred page book, when I could stretch my feet out and watch television. The book also goes into detail that even though we may think television is free, when you add up the cost for television itself plus the monthly subscription it is actually much cheaper to just own a library card and check out a book.
This chapter also goes into that a book has an intended audience but television doesn’t because it could be intended for anyone. I also disagree with this because to me if I am watching a show I already know who it is intended for. If I see “SpongeBob” a cartoon show then I know it is for children but if “House” is on then I know it is intended for adults. To me the reason why television is so popular even though it is costly and doesn’t offer the same physical attachment as a book does is simply because people do not like reading two hundred pages book when they could easily watch a show on the TV. Television also attracts us in society because it is visual, we can see what’s taking place such as the explosions, car chases, love and drama. When reading a book the reader has to visualize those situations and events inside their minds.

World is a Text 1-21

I cannot lie when I say this chapter was boring and difficult just to finish. However it does offer some very interesting points. From the beginning you can tell that this book is trying to develop the readers reading skills. It wants to teach the reader that books and stories are not the only objects that can be read, but anything that we encounter throughout our daily lives can have some kind of meaning. In addition the book also wants the reader to develop a deeper and more critical thought process on objects. Instead of reading an object and understanding its simple meaning the book tries teaching how that object can relate to a bigger picture such as the world. Furthermore we may not realize it but we do a lot more reading than we realize each day. When we watch television, listen to a song, or view other people we usually attach some meaning to it and during the process did not even recognize we were reading it.

The one subject I am able to relate to is "The Semiotic Situation"(Or the Moving Text) which is when we try to make sense of our surroundings. When I was in high school I played basketball for the school team and as one of the shorter and faster guys on the team I played the position of point guard. As the point guard it was my responsibility to run the offense and call the plays on each possession. However if I was going to call the plays that would work I had to know how the opposing defense was playing our team and I did this my reading the players on the other team. I had to know if the defense was in man or zone and if it was zone what kind of zone it was. I can still remember my coach yelling at me that making the right call, finding open guys and generating points laid completely on my shoulders by the success or failure I had reading the opposing defense.

How I got my name

When my mother was pregnant with me she decided from the start to not have an ultrasound and have the whole pregnancy be a surprise. However she had a strong feeling inside of her that I was going to be a girl, therefore an entire room filled with girlish toys, clothes and colors was setup for the arriving baby. Even family members and close friends had bought all these gifts for a baby girl. Then when she gave birth and discovered I was boy not only was my mother in shock but they had no ideas for a name. Both my mom and dad liked different names and could not decide what to name me. So they decided to put the two names into a hat, and the one they drew would ultimately be my name. Essam was the name drawn out of the hat and that was how I was named.